Local food systems are important because the closer farmers are to the people consuming their crops, the more access populations will have to nutritious and affordable food. The loss of farmland to development is leading to the demise of many local food systems. According to American Farmland Trust, every single minute of every day, the US loses two acres of farmland and from 1982-1997, the US population grew by 17%, while urbanized land grew by 47%. Development of farmland for other purposes means that those crops must be grown elsewhere, often resulting in the clear-cut of forests to make room for more farmland. Such habitat destruction is of dire consequence, both for medical research and for climate regulation. Our forests are the lungs of the earth and we continue to deplete them while alternatives exist. Growing food in your own back yard relieves the pressure on the current food system, allowing less land to be consumed for agriculture at the expense of farmland.